Bill > A2859

Introduced Session

This bill requires a public utility to reimburse a municipality no later than 60 days after the municipality submits a bill to the public utility for all actual and related costs a municipality incurs in providing police services required for the safe completion of a public utility project, unless the municipality and public utility have a prior payment agreement established pursuant to local ordinance. If the public utility, after having received a bill from a municipality, elects to enter into negotiations with the municipality concerning the bill, the 60-day bill submission period is to pause on the day negotiations begin and is to resume the day negotiations end. A public utility's reimbursement to a municipality for police services is not to be recoverable from ratepayers. This bill also provides that in a civil action brought against a public utility by a municipality to recover financial losses sustained from providing police services, the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs of a civil action incurred by a plaintiff recovering judgment. A public utility's payment of reasonable attorney's fees and costs of a civil action is not to be recoverable from ratepayers.

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Gary Schaer (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee (on 02/20/2020)